Grind is My Ninja Way

A sharp sense of danger surged through Fukuoka Takui's mind. He didn't dare hesitate and immediately crouched down to avoid the attack.

The long blade swept over his head, severing several strands of his hair.

A bead of cold sweat slid down Takui's forehead, making his heart pound wildly.

Seimei noticed his shift in emotions but paid no mind. Without pausing, he slashed downward with his longsword, aiming directly at his opponent's shoulder.

Takui had no time to dodge. He raised his kunai to block the blow.

Clang!

A crisp, metallic sound echoed.

Seimei's weapon was a longsword, striking downward with great force—far beyond what a kunai could handle.

In just a split second, Takui was forced to retreat.

Slash!

Seimei's blade struck the ground, sinking deeply into it.

Seizing the opportunity, Takui pushed off the ground with both feet, launching himself into the air and landing on a nearby wall.

Seimei, seeing this, pulled his longsword free and prepared to pursue.

But at that moment, a barrage of water needles suddenly shot toward him from the side, like a torrential rainstorm.

Seimei was about to evade when he realized that the entire area—spanning over ten meters—was covered by the water needles.

It was clear the enemy was determined to prevent his escape.

Seimei turned his gaze toward the source of the attack and saw the Kirigakure special jōnin who had launched the water blade ninjutsu staring intently at him.

The ninjutsu, prepared who knows how long in advance, unleashed a wide-range attack at a perfect moment—just after Takui escaped and the dual-sword Kirigakure ninja had been knocked away, leaving Seimei the sole target.

For most shinobi, this situation would have been challenging; even if they survived, they would likely be injured.

But Seimei was different.

Sensing the imminent danger, he quickly formed a hand seal and activated a jutsu—Chakra Cloak!

A layer of chakra enveloped his body, forming a flowing garment in an instant.

The water needles struck the cloak, leaving only ripples and failing to harm Seimei.

Evidently, the water needles relied on their sheer quantity, but their individual impact was not strong.

For the self-regenerating Chakra Cloak, this was a perfect counter.

If the water needles had been stronger, even approaching the power of a D-rank jutsu, such a dense attack could have posed a threat.

But unfortunately for the attacker, they weren't.

With no real threat remaining, Seimei wasted no time. He immediately used Instant Blade Technique to pursue Takui.

At that moment, Takui was still perched on the wall.

Seeing Seimei closing in, he dared not expose his back and could only brace himself for combat.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The sharp sound of metal clashing echoed repeatedly.

Seimei, wielding his longsword with ghostly speed, relentlessly attacked Takui. Within moments, Takui was covered in multiple wounds.

Meanwhile, the Kirigakure special jōnin who had launched the water needles sought an opportunity to intervene but struggled to keep up with Seimei's speed.

Even when he managed to find an opening and began preparing an attack, Seimei would spot it in advance with his Sharingan.

Using the surrounding buildings and Takui as shields, Seimei negated any potential threat.

Unable to act decisively, the jōnin's interference amounted to nothing more than an annoyance—insufficient to affect the outcome.

Clang!

Once again, Seimei sent Takui flying with a slash.

Takui stumbled, barely keeping his balance.

Seimei's eyes lit up at the sight and he immediately used Instant Blade Technique to close the gap.

He swung his longsword.

Takui dodged with a desperate roll, barely avoiding the strike.

But Seimei pressed on, his blade unrelenting.

Takui could only continue dodging, his situation growing increasingly precarious.

The saying "constant defense leads to failure" proved true.

After narrowly evading several strikes, Takui finally faltered. Seimei's blade severed half his arm.

"Ah!"

A sharp cry escaped Takui's lips.

Enduring the searing pain, he staggered backward.

Seimei flicked his wrist, sending several kunai flying toward him.

Takui did his best to dodge, but his injured state slowed his reactions. While he avoided most, one kunai grazed his neck.

Scarlet blood spurted forth as he clutched at his neck and retreated further.

"What a pity," Seimei muttered under his breath.

The kunai had failed to sever Takui's carotid artery, merely wounding his neck.

Still, it was enough.

Dodging a few kunai from the side, Seimei ignored the attacking Kirigakure chūnin and used Instant Blade Technique again to pursue Takui.

The distance between them was already short. In the blink of an eye, Seimei was in front of Takui.

Whoosh!

The longsword slashed once more.

This time, Seimei used both Illusion Blade Technique and Shadow Blade Technique. Six blade shadows—three real, three fake—converged from different angles toward Takui.

Faced with the six phantom-like blades, Takui's pupils dilated in shock.

In a life-or-death moment, his reflexes surged. He narrowly avoided four of the blades—two fake, two real.

But it wasn't enough.

As Seimei's blade struck his body, Takui spat out a mouthful of blood and was sent flying.

Thud!

He slammed into a wall, coughed up more blood, and collapsed to the ground.

Struggling to rise, he failed after several attempts.

Seimei stepped forward, prepared to deliver the final blow.

At that moment, a water dragon roared in from the side, its maw open as if to swallow him whole.

Seimei glanced at the rooftop where the Kirigakure special jōnin stood and retreated swiftly.

Boom!

The water dragon crashed into the ground, shattering the street and toppling several nearby buildings.

As dust billowed, Seimei emerged unscathed.

Seeing Seimei unharmed, Hasegawa showed no surprise. He was used to it. Driving Seimei away was good enough.

With this in mind, he turned his attention to Takui to assess his condition.

But just as he did, a thin water jet shot through the settling dust, piercing Takui's heart.

Splat!

Another mouthful of blood sprayed forth.

Takui looked down at the water jet passing through his chest, despair filling his eyes.

He raised his hands, struggling to grasp the jet, but it vanished before he could touch it.

A gaping wound remained on his chest.

Blood gushed from the hole like a fountain, pooling beneath him and forming a sizeable puddle in moments.

Hasegawa's expression darkened at the sight.